SAN JOSE, CA -- The Sharks drew first blood, but it would be the Golden Knights who feasted late for a 5-3 victory.
This is Vegas hockey.
Force a defensive zone turnover, counterattack without hesitation -- including "stay-at-home" defender Brayden McNabb. Don't give the defense time to breathe.
Fill three lanes, cohesive zone entry, spread out the defense. If you attack through one lane, the defense can concentrate its manpower in one place:
Don't forget the trailer. As Victor Hedman said in December, "They always have four guys up in the rush." This gives the attack another option and confuses coverage even further.
Every team wants this type of counterattack, but few achieve it as often as Vegas does.
"Maybe it was little more conservative in LA," acknowledged McNabb. "Turk lets us play. It's not careless play."
Pluses
David Perron and James Neal were among the culprits in a Pittsburgh loss which was marred by poor defensive play. While Gerard Gallant didn't call them out by name, I'd guess he was addressing the high-scoring duo (among others) at morning skate:
We just have to work harder. If you let those type of teams skate against you in the neutral zone, especially the Crosbys, the Malkins, the Kessels, it's going to be tough to stop them in the defensive zone. Because they got good speed and they're attacking all the time.We have to do a better job in the neutral zone. We have to skate quicker. And that all starts from the offensive zone play. When you turn over the puck, you have to make sure you're coming back hard.
Both veterans came up big in all three zones last night.
"It was definitely a big goal for us because I don't even know if we had a shot at that time," Neal noted.
Indeed, Vegas was down 1-0 on the scoreboard and 12-0 on the shot counter at this point. It's no exaggeration to call this goal a life-saver.
Neal and Perron would also team up for the game-winner. They tag-teamed Kevin Labanc on the wall -- Perron ties up Labanc and Neal pokes it forward.
"I heard Perry calling for it behind me. Dropped it off," said Neal. "He made a great play back to me."
Perron's pass between a sprawling Burns and Justin Braun was a masterpiece. Neal did the rest and the Sharks were history.
It's worth noting that Colin Miller's batted puck to the wall, which led to the Neal strike, could have been called for a high stick.
Marc-Andre Fleury was the reason why this game even got to Neal. He stopped 15 of 16 shots in the opening frame, helping his team escape tied one apiece.
Minuses
"They dominated the first," admitted Gallant. "We came out sleeping tonight."
Outshot 16-3, outchanced 8-3 (in all sitations, by my count), but tied up at one? That's a victory unto itself.
In particular, the Knights had no answer for the Burns to Joe Pavelski connection.
(Pavelski is in front of the net, getting away from Bellemare. He deflects Burns's point shot past Fleury.)
In both cases, Burns takes his time until Pavelski can find a soft spot. This was clearly intentional on the playmaker's part. Keep your eye on the slippery sniper at the same time.
After a 4-2 road trip, Vegas has just 11 away games for the rest of the season. On the other hand, they have 17 at home left. Already 12 points up on Calgary and San Jose, the Golden Knights are in position to run away with the Pacific.
The Knights return home this Sunday for Philadephia's inaugural visit.
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